Abstract
The Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA), as one of the most widely used measures of death anxiety (DA), has increasingly been applied in many studies. However, the structures derived from different studies are highly inconsistent. In this study, both traditional and novel (bifactor) modeling approaches were used, to investigate the most optimal structure of the ASDA in a sample of 984 Chinese college students. After a series of comparisons, the results showed that the bifactor model, with a dominant general DA factor and three distinct sub-dimensions, was the most optimal measurement structure, and measurement invariance of this bifactor model between sexes was also confirmed. Based on the implications of this bifactor model, the discussion was focused mainly on whether distinct dimensions should be interpreted or not. Some strengths and limitations of the study were also discussed at the end of the paper.
Highlights
From ancient times to the present, death has remained one of the main concerns for humans
Although many studies have already been carried out to investigate the structure of the ASDA
little is known about its underlying factor structure
Summary
From ancient times to the present, death has remained one of the main concerns for humans. Death anxiety is the negative relationship associated with death, such as the angst, fear, and dread of death or death-related events (Qiu et al, 2015; Yang et al, 2016). It is not a sudden emotion but a continuous state throughout life. It is a highly personal issue, depending on different events and situations and the degree of anxiety related to death, may vary from one person to the other (Bengtson et al, 1977). Considering the various disorders listed above, understanding the nature and risk factors of DA has important clinical implications
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